A week of continuous Albuterol running at 20mg/hr, mixed with feelings of guilt and
overwhelming frustration, was pretty much the theme for incarceration number 92.

Maybe I’ve been reading too many other bloggers accounts of their brittle asthma experiences
while in the hospital setting, or maybe it was the steroid psychosis kicking in, but this was the first time I found it necessary to incessantly try and convince some of the doctors caring for me, that I indeed had very severe asthma and wasn’t faking it.

A few days into this stay, my Pulmonologist finally showed at my bedside and basically told me to cool it. “Why do you keep pondering this crazy notion that you might not be a severe asthmatic?” “Stop ruminating on this! ” …were his exact words.

Perhaps, missing out on the Portland marathon had something to do with the intensity of this flare-up and the feelings of failure. I think the fact that some of my friends ( who were sick themselves) were doing races in my honor, somehow made me feel even more useless.

Anyway, I was discharged from the hospital Sunday afternoon, but am totally trashed. I don’t think I wanna go through this anymore. I’m tired of being constantly short of breath. I’m tired of the stress I put my loved ones through every time I get sick. I’m tired of chasing dreams I’ll never obtain. I’m tired of playing this game…. period. OK, I’m feeling a little sorry for myself right now. I’m sure I’ll feel better once the steroids leave my body, but I’m not so sure if I want to continue blogging about my asthma. Ive made too much a game out of it.

A good friend of mine , who knows I love cats….. sent me this video.

Today I began a new Italian language class at the Scula di Lingua e Cultura Italiana  ( School of Italian Language and Culture) in South San Francisco.   The class only meets once a week for 3 hours, but it’’s a total immersion environment for those 3 hours. The instructor speaks minimal English while teaching… and she talks FAST !

I was a little worried that because my breathing has been really bad most of this week, that I’d be too short of breath to speak much in class, but I managed to get through it surprising well. I think the distraction of having to concentrate on something other than my lungs really helped.   The school is quite a drive ( 40 miles each way from my home), but it has a very good reputation and the intuition is very reasonable, so I think overall, it’’s worth the hassle.

So why Italiano ?  Firstly,  because I like love the language and the people , but also because I”m planning to go back to Italy in a few months and Id really like to be able to communicate better with the locals. Contrary to popular tourist belief, not every Italian you run into in Italy… speaks English ( and they shouldn’t have to).

The class is held every Saturday morning, which means for at least the next 13 weeks, I’ll be doing my long training walks on Sundays instead.

I’ve been lagging way behind on this years Portland Marathon training, and with only 4 weeks till the actual race, I had no choice but to cram in a 20 miler this past Saturday. Needless to say, my lungs and legs aren’t to happy right now. This walk was extremely difficult, and at times… painful. I simply haven’t done enough long training walks and I think the jump from a 13 miles to 20 miles in just a 3 weeks period (without anything in between), was a bit much.

As I was approaching the Golden Gate bridge from Crissy field, I could see them setting up a huge camp and staging area for 60 mile Avon Breast Cancer walk . I remember thinking.. …..these people are walking 3 times farther than I am! (Somehow I found it hard to complain after that)

The whole thing took me almost 7 hours to complete , but that included several stretch breaks and a stop at the Sports Basement Super Store in the Presidio to buy a couple gels ( I lost the ones I had brought along). It was also very warm in San Francisco that day, which I wasn’t expecting. When I started the walk at 7:45am it was only 62 degrees , by the time I finished …it was 89 !
Somewhere around mile 15 , I was so hot, I ended up tossing my jacket.

Next weekend I’ll finish up this session with a 10 miler and then a well deserved 2 weeks of short easy walks.

…..How about sitting 6 feet away from your favorite performer in a classy Las Vegas theater?

Yup, it was another fantastic performance from this musical genius. I liked “Music&Passion” , but I like “Ultimate Manilow the Hits” …even more. A little less glitzy, with more music…and much more Manilow!!

There’s always something special and/or unique about every performance that Barry does. I think the thing that impressed me the most about Wednesday nights show, was his ability to hit and successively hold , every single high or sustained note, in every song that required it. A rarity for live performances. Absolutely incredible…Talk about a set of pipes ! (If you’re a “Fanilow” , you know what I’m talking about).

Anyways…here’s a few pictures for you hardcore fans. The quality of the pics didn’t turn out that great this time , as I was too caught up in the energy of the show to hold the camera steady (It’s difficult to take pictures and applaud at the same time).

Unfortunately, the video I took and posted on Youtube was yanked by Stiletto entertainment.

……..Oh , and I finally received the highly coveted “Barry Handshake”! ( but I confess, I already washed that hand).

For exercising hard and never allowing this disease to get the better of me, I occasionally reward myself with a trip to see the “Man”…..where ever he might be performing in the country!

Fortunately, he’s only one state away this time , so on Wednesday I head back to Las Vegas for my 36th show and pay homage to the master. May sound like a lot, but that number only averages out to about 1.2 concerts per year spread over a 30 year period. This one’s gonna be special though, because it will be the first time that Ive had a front row seat at the Hilton theater, that I didn’t have to give up at the last minute due of my health ( knock on wood).

My last Manilow fix was way back in February in San Jose , so I’m starting to have withdrawal symptoms (ie. irritability, excessive humming of show tunes, etc).

” Ultimate Manilow, the Hits” is an all new show for Barry, replacing Music& Passion, which has been headlining and selling out shows at the Hilton theater for the past 3 years. Among is fan base,the new show reviews are mixed. But, one thing’s for sure, if Barry’s in the show,you can bet it’s going to be good.

This will probably be my last big splurge for quite a while. I’ve spent way too much this year on out of town travel. I need to find a good lab-ratting gig to help me fund my next big trip , which will be to Italy in March preceded by another Barry fix in January.

Portland Marathon…..less than 5 weeks and counting.